Inside Climate News

MAY 16, 2023

A study finds one plastics recycling plant in the U.K. produces as much as 3 million pounds of microplastics a year—and that’s with filtering. By James Bruggers Research out of Scotland suggests that the chopping, shredding and washing of plastic in recycling facilities may turn as much as six to 13 percent of incoming waste into microplastics—tiny, toxic particles that are an emerging and ubiquitous environmental health concern for the planet and people.

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Environment + Energy Leader

MAY 17, 2023

President Biden's Investing in America agenda is pushing to boost U.S. competitiveness, rebuild infrastructure, strengthen supply chains, and implement clean energy.

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Legal Planet

MAY 16, 2023

On a per capita basis, Australia’s carbon emissions are even higher than the United States. A decade ago, Australia had a climate tax. That was repealed in 2014, and the ensuing period saw little progress. In the past two years, however, the things have started trending upward after years of inaction by conservative governments. More is needed, but hopefully the tide has turned.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

MAY 16, 2023

The US wildfire season used to last about four months, beginning in late summer or early autumn. These days, it stretches six to eight months, according to the US Forest Service, and in some places it’s now a year-round affair. In just five years, from 2018 through 2022, wildfires scorched 38.3 million acres across the country. That’s nearly 60,000 square miles, slightly bigger than the state of Georgia.

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Speaker: Andrew Skoog, Founder of MachinistX & President of Hexis Representatives

Manufacturing is evolving, and the right technology can empower—not replace—your workforce. Smart automation and AI-driven software are revolutionizing decision-making, optimizing processes, and improving efficiency. But how do you implement these tools with confidence and ensure they complement human expertise rather than override it? Join industry expert Andrew Skoog as he explores how manufacturers can leverage automation to enhance operations, streamline workflows, and make smarter, data-dri

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Yale E360

MAY 18, 2023

A new study reaffirming that global climate change is human-made also found the upper atmosphere is cooling dramatically because of rising CO2 levels. Scientists are worried about the effect this cooling could have on orbiting satellites, the ozone layer, and Earth’s weather.

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Environment + Energy Leader

MAY 18, 2023

The ABB Energy Industries is driving the move toward renewable hydrogen with an offshore wind project: SoutH2Port – a project that has two key hurdles, which include the cost of making hydrogen from wind and solar and building offshore wind farms.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

MAY 17, 2023

During a California State Assembly informational hearing earlier this year, there seemed to be consensus that California’s 19 th century water rights system is not well suited to the social context and climate of the 21st century. Change is necessary and may be coming.  This outdated water rights system is based on historic and continued disenfranchisement and dispossession.

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Yale E360

MAY 19, 2023

New York City is sinking under the weight of its massive buildings, leaving it more vulnerable to rising seas, a new study finds.

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Environment + Energy Leader

MAY 15, 2023

Research on plastic pollution done by WWF and Eunomia will present the feasibility of banning certain plastics from circulation at the UN plastic pollution treaty talks later this month.

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Legal Planet

MAY 18, 2023

New York has enacted what may be the country’s most stringent environmental justice law. The state deserves credit for its commitment to remedying the unfair pollution burdens placed on disadvantaged communities. The law is so broadly worded, however, that it may have the potential to prevent economic development that would aid those communities, or even new facilities like hospitals that are urgently needed by the community.

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Speaker: Kevin Kai Wong, President of Emergent Energy Solutions

In today's industrial landscape, the pursuit of sustainable energy optimization and decarbonization has become paramount. ♻️ Manufacturing corporations across the U.S. are facing the urgent need to align with decarbonization goals while enhancing efficiency and productivity. Unfortunately, the lack of comprehensive energy data poses a significant challenge for manufacturing managers striving to meet their targets. 📊 Join us for a practical webinar hosted by Kevin Kai Wong of Emergent Ene

2024

Union of Concerned Scientists

MAY 19, 2023

Earlier this month, I provided testimony to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at a public hearing on the proposed rule on sterilization facilities that emit ethylene oxide (EtO), a cancer-causing gas. These facilities use EtO to sterilize medical equipment, as well as some dried spices and herbs. About half of all sterile medical equipment in the US is sterilized with EtO.

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Yale E360

MAY 16, 2023

Emissions from the world's 88 largest fossil fuel firms and cement makers are responsible for 37 percent of the forest burned in the western U.S. and Canada since 1986, according to a new study.

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Environment + Energy Leader

MAY 19, 2023

The plant will have the potential to produce 1 GW of energy using 25 SMRs.

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Legal Planet

MAY 15, 2023

Although the Constitution does not say so directly, the Supreme Court has said there are implied limits on state regulations that interfere with interstate commerce. This is known as the dormant commerce clause doctrine. State clean energy laws have been bedeviled by challenges based on this doctrine. The Supreme Court has just made it easier for states to fend off those claims.

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Speaker: Antoine M. Thompson, Executive Director of the Greater Washington Region Clean Cities Coalition

Diversity, Equity, Justice, and Inclusion (DEJI) policies, programs, and initiatives are critically important as we move forward with public and private sector climate and sustainability goals and plans. Underserved and socially, economically, and racially disadvantaged communities bear the burden of pollution, higher energy costs, limited resources, and limited investments in the clean energy and transportation sectors.

Clean Energy

Union of Concerned Scientists

MAY 16, 2023

Today, the Union of Concerned Scientists released a study that really caught my attention. I usually try to stay in my cozy power sector bubble, plugging away on electricity grid decarbonization. But this new study from my colleagues working on climate change and fossil fuel accountability couldn’t be ignored. The reason: the findings of this study could ultimately have significant consequences for western electric utilities and the communities they serve.

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Circle of Blue

MAY 17, 2023

Restoration projects in the Kissimmee River Basin north of Lake Okeechobee are part of larger efforts to reduce nutrient pollution and send clean water south to the Everglades. Photo courtesy Brent Anderson / South Florida Water Management District via Flickr Creative Commons YOUR GLOBAL RUNDOWN Public hiking paths have opened along the Han River, a biodiverse estuary which flows through the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea.

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Environment + Energy Leader

MAY 18, 2023

The new criteria will contribute to supply chain decarbonization and Scope 3 emission reductions and will allow suppliers as well as consumers to make informed decisions on the products they produce.

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Ocean Conservancy

MAY 18, 2023

All animals—whether fish, dog, snail or human—need to breathe. We take in oxygen and process it through tiny mitochondria (also known as the power houses of the cell) and expel carbon dioxide—a method that powers the rest of our bodies and gets rid of waste. How exactly animals take in that oxygen can vary, though. (Side note—scientists recently discovered the first animal that doesn’t breathe oxygen at all, a parasitic “blob” called Henneguya salmincola.

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Speaker: Laurie Schoeman Director, Climate & Sustainability, Capital

As households and communities across the nation face challenges such as hurricanes, wildfires, drought, extreme heat and cold, and thawing permafrost and flooding, we are increasingly searching for ways to mitigate and prevent climate impacts. During this event, national climate and housing expert Laurie Schoeman will discuss topics including: The two paths for climate action: decarbonization and adaptation.

2022

Cleannovate

MAY 19, 2023

I sat still in the lab waiting for the synthesis I was working on to come through. My tools of trade were a basic… A burette (remember from high school titration experiments?)… Some conical flasks, beakers etc – I won’t bore you with chemistry. What was my mission here?

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Circle of Blue

MAY 15, 2023

Refresh A Great Lakes News Collaborative series investigating the region’s water pollution challenges. This series explores the Clean Water Act’s shortcomings in the Great Lakes, and how the region can more completely address water pollution in the next 50 years. The collaborative’s four newsrooms — Bridge Michigan, Circle of Blue, Great Lakes Now, and Michigan Radio — work collaboratively to report on the most pressing water issues in the Great Lakes region.

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Environment + Energy Leader

MAY 15, 2023

During the first quarter of 2023, the renewable source generated more than 32% of the country's energy.

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Energy & the Law

MAY 17, 2023

You might recall our posts on litigation by states, counties, and cities blaming a host of calamities, real and imagined, past and future, on Big Oil. The producers tried their best to remove the cases to federal court. In a two-sentence ruling, the United States Supreme Court refused to consider defendants’ Hail-Mary to have the cases remain in federal court.

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Speaker: Nikhil Joshi, Founder & President of Snic Solutions

Is your manufacturing operation reaching its efficiency potential? A Manufacturing Execution System (MES) could be the game-changer, helping you reduce waste, cut costs, and lower your carbon footprint. Join Nikhil Joshi, Founder & President of Snic Solutions, in this value-packed webinar as he breaks down how MES can drive operational excellence and sustainability.

Waste

Legal Planet

MAY 16, 2023

A bike path passes by the Chevron Refinery in El Segundo. Last year, the South Coast Air Quality Management District was accused of not properly enforcing a state law that requires petroleum refineries to install air-quality monitoring systems around their perimeter. Essentially, the air quality watchdog exempted smaller refineries from having to follow the rules.

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Circle of Blue

MAY 16, 2023

May 16, 2023 Fresh is a biweekly newsletter from Circle of Blue that unpacks the biggest international, state, and local policy news stories facing the Great Lakes region today. Sign up for Fresh: A Great Lakes Policy Briefing , straight to your inbox, every other Tuesday. — Christian Thorsberg, Interim Fresh Editor This Week’s Watersheds A new law in Wisconsin will fund more sustainable, watershed friendly farming methods.

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Environment + Energy Leader

MAY 16, 2023

The funding will be used for the decarbonization of gas networks and the distribution and production of clean hydrogen.

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Scientific American

MAY 17, 2023

A debate has been settled over the earliest animal ancestor—a free-swimming creature with a well-developed nervous system

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Sustainable Development

NRDC

MAY 17, 2023

Congress should go back to the drawing board and build a budget that supports a healthy food system, conservation, and rural energy

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Enviromental Defense

MAY 15, 2023

ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE, WOMEN’S EARTH AND CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK Indigenous Leaders, Environmental Groups, and Concerned Citizens Call on Canada to Shut Down Enbridge’s Line 5 Pipeline Ottawa | Traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg People – Today, Indigenous, civil society, and environmental groups from the Great Lakes region delivered a letter to Prime Minister Trudeau and members of his cabinet, calling for Canada to withdraw its use of the 1977 pipeline treaty and

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Environment + Energy Leader

MAY 15, 2023

With airlines trying to meet sustainability goals, many are allocating funds for sustainability and carbon impact reductions, such as finding efficient means to obtain SAF.

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Inside Climate News

MAY 18, 2023

A new global study of lakes shows water levels falling and finds a global warming fingerprint. By Bob Berwyn Water storage in many of the world’s biggest lakes has declined sharply in the last 30 years, according to a new study, with a cumulative drop of about 21.5 gigatons per year, an amount equal to the annual water consumption of the United States.

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NRDC

MAY 15, 2023

In the Rose Garden celebration of conservation achievements, President Joe Biden elevates the Pebble Mine veto—calling the Bristol Bay fishery “a marvel,” citing scientific consensus of unacceptable risk from large-scale mining, and thanking Alaska Natives and the broad-based coalition for their 20-year opposition to the proposed mine.

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